Ex-lawyer who skipped Marin jail sentence arrested on warrant

A former attorney who was convicted of practicing law without a license — then didn't show up to begin his jail sentence — was arrested this week on a warrant from a Marin County judge.

Stephen Eugene Jaycox, 59, of Santa Rosa appeared Thursday in Marin Superior Court, where prosecutor Lori Frugoli sought an additional 30 days in jail on top of the three months or so he is already facing.

Judge Kelly Simmons put off a decision on further sanctions until Jan. 3. Jaycox is being held without bail.

Jaycox, who resigned from the state bar in 1992 after receiving several suspensions, pleaded guilty last year to impersonating a lawyer. In 2007 and 2008, he accepted $1,000 from two clients and $2,000 from a third to represent them in real estate matters, according to a prosecution affidavit.

In addition, Jaycox appeared as an attorney in a San Francisco case and told the judge he had been reinstated to the bar, but the court clerk alerted the judge that Jaycox did not have an active license, the affidavit said.

After Jaycox pleaded guilty, Judge Simmons granted him probation in January and stayed a 90-day jail sentence while he applied for home detention. But the following month, he was charged with driving while his license was suspended for DUI, driving without proof of insurance and driving an unregistered car, according to court records.

In April, he pleaded guilty to the suspended license violation. The judge revoked his probation, sentenced him to the 90-day sentence she had stayed previously and added another 10 days.

Jaycox, who was not in custody at that point, was ordered to appear in court May 10 so he could start his jail sentence. When he failed to show up, and the judge issued a warrant for his arrest.

Jaycox was arrested on the warrant earlier this month and transferred to Marin County Jail on Monday. It was unclear why there was a lengthy delay between the issuance of the warrant and Jaycox's arrest.